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Namibia & Botswana Ii 2019

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Namibia & Botswana Ii 2019 Field Guides Tour Report NAMIBIA & BOTSWANA II 2019 Nov 5, 2019 to Nov 24, 2019 Terry Stevenson For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE. One of the first endemics we found were the localized Monteiro's Hornbills. We got very good views of them in the Erongo Mountains, and also near Windhoek. Our local guide Tarry Butcher got a lovely image of two of these interesting birds perched together. Our November 2019 Namibia and Botswana tour took place during the worst drought ever recorded, leaving some areas totally without living vegetation. At first reading this might seem depressing, but in reality it turned out to be a wonderful time to visit, with all the endemic/near endemic birds we hoped for, and a spectacular mammal list too. Such a widespread drought meant that for many species the remaining waterholes were vital for their survival - attracting far more Lions, Black Rhino and Elephant than usual, plus many large herds of zebra, wildebeest and springbok. As always we met in Johannesburg and flew to Windhoek the following day. We then had lunch at the Galton Guesthouse before spending the afternoon at the local sewage works. This might not sound like an ideal way to begin a tour, but in a country which is largely desert (and in a drought year) any area of water is worth a visit. South African Shelduck was a highlight here, as were African Swamphen, Three-banded Plover, African Jacana, African Darter, Hamerkop, Little Bittern, and Sacred Ibis. While in the surrounding acacia woodland Gray Go-away-bird, Dideric Cuckoo, White-backed Mousebird, the endemic Monteiro's Hornbill, Pied Barbet, and Scarlet-chested Sunbird were all enjoyed. To cap off a great first day we then went to a local site for the almost endemic Bradfield's Swift and had super close looks at these localized birds as they came to roost in palm trees. Leaving Windhoek behind we then drove south-west for a two night stay at the luxurious Hoodia Desert Lodge - our base for a visit to the giant red sand dunes at nearby Sossusvlei. Only quarter of an inch of rain had fallen here in the past 13 months, so this really was a true desert experience. The birding though was excellent, with our main target - the endemic Dune Lark, being found within an hour of walking, and then a super tame second bird resting right in the shade of our vehicle! Other special birds seen in this area were Namaqua Sandgrouse, Ludwig's and Rueppell's bustards, Burchell's and Double-banded coursers, Lappet-faced Vulture, Greater Kestrel, Lanner Falcon, Pririt Batis, Layard's Warbler, Mountain Wheatear, Karoo Scrub-Robin, Dusky Sunbird, Scaly and Sociable weavers, and Red-headed Finch. We had nice looks at several mammals too, including Chacma Baboon, Cape Ground-Squirrel, Gemsbok, and Springbok. Heading west and crossing the Tropic of Capricorn we picked up another very localized endemic - Gray's Lark. And then at the coast itself, we spent several hours at the Walvis Bay lagoon enjoying spectacular numbers of both Greater and Lesser flamingos, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, over 950 Chestnut-banded Plovers in a single flock, and yet more thousands of migrant shorebirds including Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 1 Stint, Common Greenshank, and Marsh Sandpiper. Gray-hooded, Hartlaub's and Kelp gulls were present, as were 5 species of tern, including at least 7 very localized Damara Terns. Our last new species at the coast was Orange River White-eye, and we then headed inland and north for three nights in the Erongo Mountains (based at two different lodges). As always the birding here was superb and we all enjoyed our walks in the dry river beds and rocky hill country as we encountered Hartlaub's Francolin, Freckled Nightjar, Verreaux's Eagle, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Green and Violet Woodhoopoe's, Damara Red-billed Hornbill, flocks of Rosy-faced Lovebirds, the endangered Rueppell's Parrot, White-tailed Shrike, White Helmetshrike, Crimson-breasted Gonolek, Carp's and Ashy tits, Rockrunner, Rufous-vented Warbler, Southern Pied Babbler, Herero Chat (a difficult to find endemic), Short-toed Rock-Thrush, and Green-winged Pytilia. Dassie Rat - a range restricted species in its own family was undoubtedly the most interesting mammal in this area. Again heading north we then spent three nights in the Etosha area, where the dry conditions attracted numerous zebras and a variety of antelopes to the life-saving waterholes. Additionally we saw Warthog, Common Giraffe, Greater Kudu, and at night 5 endangered Black Rhino! Of course this permanent water attracted the predators too, giving us great looks at Spotted Hyaena, and Lion (in five different areas). The bird life was as varied as always and just some of the most memorable were Common Ostrich, Kori and White-quilled bustards, Rufous-cheeked Nightjar, Temminck's Courser, Marabou Stork, Bateleur, Martial and Tawny eagles, Pale Chanting-Goshawk, Southern Yellow-billed and Southern Red-billed hornbills, Spike-heeled, Stark's and Pink-billed larks, Rufous-chested and Mosque swallows, Bare-cheeked Babbler, Burnt-neck Eremomela, Chat Flycatcher, Yellow Canary, and Violet-eared Waxbill. The final part of our stay in Namibia was at Taranga Safari Lodge on the banks of the Okavango River, and then passing through Mahango Game Reserve as we headed in to Botswana. With greener vegetation than what we'd experienced so far we added many new species; again just a few of the highlights were large flocks of White-faced Whistling-Duck, Spur-winged Goose, Crested Francolin, African Green-Pigeon, Wattled Crane, Long-toed Lapwing, African Openbill, Goliath Heron, White-headed Vulture, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, African Fish-Eagle, Woodland Kingfisher, Southern Carmine Bee-eater, Lilac-breasted Roller, Black-collared Barbet, Gabon Boubou, Southern Black-Tit, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Hartlaub's Babbler, White- browed Robin-Chat, Violet-backed and Meves's starlings, Red-billed Oxpecker, Southern Brown-throated Weaver, and Eastern Paradise-Whydah. Star of the show here though, was a superb Ross's Turaco - only the second record ever for Namibia! Moving on to Botswana, the first part of our stay was at Drotsky's on the banks of the Okavango River. Set in beautiful gardens and riverine woodland the spacious cabins were a great base while we explored the area by boat and on foot. The first morning boat trip was truly spectacular, as we enjoyed White-backed Night-Heron, Burchell’s Sandgrouse, African Skimmer, and 2 separate Pel's Fishing-Owls all between 8 and 9:20 am - a record??? While other new birds we enjoyed here included African Pygmy-goose, Coppery-tailed and White-browed coucals, Water Thick-knee, Collared Pratincole, Purple Heron, Black-winged Kite, Giant and Pied kingfishers, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Wire-tailed Swallow, Chirping Cisticola, Arrow-marked Babbler, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Collared Sunbird, Spectacled Weaver, and Common Waxbill. We also had our best views to date of Hippo and African Elephant. The second (and final) part of our stay in Botswana was taking a private charter flight to Macatoo, a luxury fully inclusive camp on a huge private concession deep within the Okavango Delta. We were not disappointed as we took morning and afternoon drives in this vast wilderness area. A major highlight was having an unexpected lunch in the shade of a tree over-looking a new waterhole where a procession of up to 60 elephants were drinking and bathing only hundred yards away. Other mammals we enjoyed here included 2 more Spotted Hyaena, a super tame Leopard that wouldn't move from its shady vantage point on top of a termite mound, 4 more Lions, Side-striped Jackal, at least 200 African Elephants, 130+ zebra, close hippos at their resident pool, and several hundred buffalo, lechwe and impala. We also had lesser numbers (but excellent views) of giraffe, warthog, reedbuck, topi, wildebeest, and steenbok. The birding was great too, as we revisited many species from earlier in the tour and added Double-banded Sandgrouse, Small Buttonquail, Saddle-billed Stork, Hooded Vulture, Southern Ground-hornbill, Striped Kingfisher, Broad-billed Roller, Dickinson's Kestrel, Meyer's Parrot, Lesser Striped Swallow, Piping and Desert cisticolas, Capped Wheatear, and Red-billed and Brown firefinches. Another charter flight to Maun, for our connections to Johannesburg and home was a fabulous way to round off this ever popular tour. Our next tours to Namibia and Botswana are led by Joe Grosel and run March 31 - April 19, and 3 - 22 November, 2020. KEYS FOR THIS LIST One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant BIRDS Struthionidae (Ostriches) COMMON OSTRICH (Struthio camelus) – At least 35 at Sossusvlei, 50 west of Solitaire, and 150+ at Etosha were the largest numbers, but we also had small numbers in several other widespread open areas, including 4 near Macatoo, Botswana; in all we saw about 250. Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) WHITE-FACED WHISTLING-DUCK (Dendrocygna viduata) – Three at Otjiwarongo were our first, but we then saw at least 1000 at Mahango. KNOB-BILLED DUCK (Sarkidiornis melanotos) – About 20 at Mahango, and 1 at Macatoo. EGYPTIAN GOOSE (Alopochen aegyptiaca) – Eighty at Windhoek Sewage Works were the largest number for a single area, but they were also common and widespread throughout Etosha, at Taranga, Mahango, and near Macatoo; in all we saw about 170. SOUTH AFRICAN SHELDUCK (Tadorna cana) – Ten at Windhoek Sewage Works, and 1 at Otjiwarongo Sewage Works.
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